


The Fox and his Fallen Angel

by WildCacti



Category: Haikyuu!!, haikyuu
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, Soulmates AU, Winged/angel AU, basically the equivalent of an angel, like fox-humans from hell, lots of ships, soft, theres also other stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-07 13:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16409699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildCacti/pseuds/WildCacti
Summary: After receiving suspicious orders from the heaven’s lord Ushijima, Tsukishima Kei must kill his given human-Yamaguchi Tadashi- and present his soul to the lord. However, after an unfortunate coincidence, Tsukishima fails to follow through on the order. The punishments given dig Tsukishima into a dark hole that may be filled before he knows it.tldr: tsukishima is a angel and he goofs trying to kill yamaguchi





	1. A Mortal's Will

Marble tiles shimmered under a young angel's feet as he walked toward the throne in front of him. His short blond hair was slightly ruffled, his eyes dull but searching quickly and intently at all of his surroundings. He dropped onto one knee.

“We have a new order for you. Just a simple one, you are to escort a human straight into the heavens. You’ll be given the human’s coordinates at the gate. You may not be the most hardworking angel, but doing this type of job is necessary to move up in the ranks.” The high lord Ushijima Wakatoshi stared down at Tsukishima Kei with a cool gaze. He gave a curt nod before the blond stood up, bowed, and flew away, leaving a trail of soft white feathers behind him.

“Hey Tsukishima!” The teen looked around and saw a familiar silver haired acquaintance fluttering towards him.

“Sugawara-san” Tsukishima bowed at the older angel who’d greeted him with a bright gaze.

“Aw no need to be so polite. Anyways, I see you just got orders for a new job?” Sugawara Koushi bounced from one leg to the others as he enthusiastically questioned Tsukishima.

“Uhm...yeah, just bringing a human to the heavens...an immediate escort”

Sugawara’s gaze suddenly darkened. His brows furrowed.

“Bringing a...that’s strange” The gray haired teen mumbled to himself. He looked up at Tsukishima. “That hasn’t been an order given to an angel for several generations.”

The blond looked back at the angel calmly. He was just a confused but didn’t let it bother him, and wasn’t in the mood for overthinking things. “Sugawa-”

“Ushijima-san wouldn’t give out an order like unless the human needed to come to the heavens at all costs. And...humans are granted lives as long as necessary...if it were to be cut short it’d be Oikawa-san of the underworld’s job to take care of it-”

“Sugawara-san” Tsukishima raised his voice to interrupt the quick thinking angel in front of him. “ I’m sure our lord has his reasons...it’s probably for important information...maybe don’t overthink it…” The blond was about as ready to question their lord and not listen to his duties as Sugawara would be to hurt a fly. In any word, not at all.

“Oh...yeah...just, be on the lookout for anything strange? Perhaps your trusty senpai here could give you a reward…?”

“You sound like Nishinoya-san sir, and that bait won’t work on me. I’ll be on the lookout but I’m quite positive there’ll be nothing new.” Tsukishima gave a small bow and quickly flew away. Sugawara gazed after him, worried and silent, but didn’t stop the young angel.

“Good luck Tsukishima, I hope you don’t regret this.”

 

 

Tsukishima stood by the gate that separated himself from the heavens to Earth. He held no memories of when he was a human besides walking through the gate and being presented with the field of flowers and soft grass that was the heavens. He checked in with Ennoshita about the coordinates for his human before taking a deep breath and walking through the portal.

Of all the times he’d been sent to Earth for his duties, this was the worst. Apparently the coordinates were leading him to the worse possible place, and when he landed on solid ground he was met with a blazing fire.

“You have got to be kidding me.” The blond bit his lip as the flames licked at his wings, scorching the tips and making the white feathers burn black. He flew up and took in the view of the forest fire he was stuck in. “What human would be worth enough to be stuck here and need an angel escort into the heavens.”

The blond had expected someone more worthy of an immediate escort to his home. Usually when a human was killed, their soul was released into the air, cleansed of it’s memories besides a personality and name from purifying angels before given an appearance and wings. They were then sent to the gate that welcomed them to their new home. If an immediate escort was needed, that would mean the human would retain their memories while being granted with all the powers of an angel, including wings.

“You better know some important information or I’ll really be reconsidering what Suga-san said” Tsukki continued to sarcastically think aloud as he searched around for his pesky human. He suddenly saw a tuft of green hair racing past several bushes. Tsukishima folded his wings and dropped towards the racing human at an incredible speed.

Apparently the human had quick reflexes because he stopped, turned around, screamed, and ducked all before the angel reached him.The blond collided with the hard ground and grunted in pain.

“What...the actual…”

“ARE THOSE WINGS”

The boy in front of him, trembling and shaky voiced, pointed warily at the wings Tsukishima posed.

“Uhm...yes...Yamaguchi-san?” Tsukishima had only quickly checked through the general information given to him. He felt beyond awkward using -san on a young teen, but he’d also never dealt with such a young human. Though Tsukishima was several hundred years old, he was still considered a young angel and his appearance showed him to be no older than the child before him.

Tsukishima had been ready to just grab the human and go, not strike a conversation and drink tea. But he knew if he was anything like his usual snarky self, the Lord would punish him for ‘bad angel reputation.”

“I guess I’m dead if I’m seeing people with wings”. The young teen, probably around 15 or 16 years of age chuckled. He was still shaking, but seemed to be trying to calm himself down.

Tsukishima rubbed his arms where they’d scraped the ground, clicking his tongue at the strange young boy in front of him. He was beyond confused. What kind of reason would there be to have an immediate escort with a kid? A shaking, lost in a forest fire, confused kid? It already hadn’t made sense for his lord to send the least hard working angel of his generation to escort a human straight to the heavens, and now he’d come to realize he had no excuse to push off Sugawara’s thoughts from earlier. Tsukishima knew the silver haired angel wasn’t only worried because Ushijima had suddenly brought up a task he hadn’t ordered in several centuries, it was because of the job itself. He’d have to kill Yamaguchi with his own hands, control his soul all the way back to the heavens untainted, and present it to his lord. After Ushijima was done with the subject, they’d be terminated and their soul would vanish from the face of the Earth. It was cruel, but no angel was allowed to live with memories of the past.

“You’re not dead yet” Tsukishima mumbled, and summoned his weapon. His right palm glowed a bright white as a scythe appeared in his hands.

Yamaguchi stared at him, dumbfounded. He started to scurry backwards but was met with an ever growing flame.

“I have a lot of questions, for my sanity and about you, uh..” The teen seemed to choke on his own words. He was to be done trying to calm himself down, his pupils dilated and his limbs all violently shaking. He swallowed the saliva in his throat as the angel before him stepped forward slowly.

“This would have been a lot easier if you hadn’t heard me coming. Now unless you want us both dead forever, don’t fight back. If you get through this pain you’ll become an angel like me and you’ll meet up with my lord. After tha-”

“Angel...ANGEL?! A-a-and dead forever what’s that supposed to mean...and I’m meeting someone I...” Yamaguchi seemed thoroughly shook. Tsukishima couldn’t blame him, but he also had a hard time sympathizing for someone who took so long to start panicking when they were already stuck in a forest fire.

Tsukishima bent over and grabbed the teens arm. He flinched, but was smart enough not to fight back. Despite looking slender, the blond could feel muscles all over Yamaguchi’s arm. He tried to think about how to go about this. Like other angels his generation, he’d really only been taught how to kill by surprise, and was in no shape or form comfortable with trying to calm someone down. He’d also never had to actually kill anyone. Most of the time it was passing someone out or making a distraction.

Tsukishima brought the scythe to Yamaguchi’s chest. The boy’s T-shirt read as “Monday, second Monday, Third Monday, Hell Monday, Friday, Freedom, and the day before Monday”. The blond chuckled.

“Nice shirt-”

Yamaguchi ripped his arm away from Tsukishima’s grasp and sprinted away, straight into the fire behind him. Tsukishima watched for a moment before his eyes grew wide.

“Shit”

He raced towards where he saw the green haired teen run, occasionally gliding over the burned ground. “You idiot, stop running! You’re going to kill yourself...and not in the way you’re supposed to”

He could faintly see the shadow of the idiotic child and gave a strong push of his legs before flying at the teen. He caught up quickly but could feel his wings burning from the fire.

“Stop right there!” His voice cracked, that air was thick and he’d never been the type of person to yell. Despite being told he had a cool personality and that he was too blunt, watching others die, much less killing them wasn’t on the top of his priority list. His fear of being punished by Ushijima was now at the back of his mind, all he knew was that he couldn’t just watch a poor idiot die from running into a fire because he’d failed to kill him quickly.

Yamaguchi didn’t seem to slow down in any way, but the angel was hot on his heels. He grabbed the teen by his sides and flew into the air, slightly buckling under the weight, but managing to get away from the raging fire.

Once in the air, Tsukishima took a moment to finally breath in clear air, but was still frantically trying to keep the frightened kid in his grasp. He was wobbling, but was relieved that they were at least out of the fire.

“Just try not to move that much,” he muttered, and flapped his slightly burned wings towards the closest place that wasn’t on fire. They stayed silent while in the air while Tsukishima took a good look at the forest fire, wondering how Yamaguchi had gotten stuck there in the first place. He could feel him trembling in his arms, and breathed a sigh of relief that he didn’t flail around.

After several minutes, Yamaguchi rasped his first words since they’d been in the fire.

“Thank you...I...uhm...I really appreciated that” He chuckled the tiniest bit, and the rest of the flight became as silent as it was before, the only difference being the small grin plastered over Tsukishima’s face.

  
  
  


Once landed, the two teens immediately fell onto their backs, breathing heavily and trying to slow down their pounding heartbeats. Beads of sweat fell down their foreheads as they attempted to catch themselves up on what had just happened.

Tsukishima felt panic fill his chest; not only had he failed to kill his assigned human, but he’d instead saved him and left the boy open to run away at any moment. He knew the punishment for this could be beyond cruel, but surprisingly didn’t feel as much regret as he’d thought.

Yamaguchi, on the other hand, seemed half dead and was frozen on the ground; flabbergasted at how many things had just happened to him. He gripped the dirt around him, and upon cautiously looking around noticed he was in a dirt field, the fire no longer in sight. Tsukishima had sat up next to him and seemed panicked, but he didn’t say anything.

“So you were going to kill me…”

“I’m not going to kill you, there’s no point anymore, perhaps if you passed out or something then it wouldn’t be as difficult but you’d probably run away…ugh... you’ve made this difficult you know?”

Yamaguchi stared at the winged human...no...angel? His eyes sparkled in awe at his purely white wings, but cringed as he noticed they were singed in several places from the fire.

Tsukishima noticed the teen staring at him and gave a cool glare. “Are you seriously just gonna accept that I’m an angel that tried to kill you and awe at me all day?”

Yamaguchi glanced back at him in surprise. “Well unless I hallucinated getting carried in the air by an angel out of a fire, I’m pretty sure I just have to believe you…?”

“Stupid. You shouldn’t trust me, you don’t know what I could do to you and the only knowledge you have of me is that I’m here to stab you with a scythe. Why aren’t you running away?” Tsukishima was genuinely confused, he never understood humans and he never would.

“I...well...first of all, I don’t think I could run right now even if I wanted, but also...you did save me from the fire. And you don’t look like you’re going to kill me anymore…” Yamaguchi gave the angel a sly smile. His face was covered in soot and his hair was a mess, but Tsukishima had to admit he looked better than expected from someone who was nearly killed by a forest fire.

He wanted to ask what the teen was doing stuck in a forest anyways, but as he opened his mouth to continue speaking a sudden flash of bright light enveloped him. He felt his body be flung around before a sudden flash of pain hit his side. He looked up and saw a field. And a gate. And a line of angels glaring at him.

“Oh…” Tsukishima gulped. In front of him was the high lord Ushijima, along with the second and third command angels, Semi Eita and Tendou Satori. Behind them was a mumbling crowd of lower class angels, most of which were shooting dark glares at him. “Ushijima-san I-”

“You have no excuse. You were given orders and you failed to follow through. You will be punished for this.” Ushijima raised his arm and pointed at Tsukishima. “From this day forth, you are banned from the heavens. You will be struck to Earth and live a measly life until you eventually die.” In one sweeping motion, he threw his arm down, and Tsukishima felt his body fly down with it.

Tsukishima felt a yell stuck in his throat as he fell through the air. He flailed his arms, trying to grasp upwards, back at the heavens, his home. “No...no! It was a mistake I didn’t mean to if you just gave me more time-” The once cool headed angel was frantically screaming as he fell farther and farther away from the heavens. “No...oh god no…” Tsukishima could see Earth slowly getting closer and closer, and felt his fate as a fallen angel riding up his shoulders. He opened his wings, to try and slow down his fall but was still falling at a dangerously fast pace.

He kept his wings open, his heart pounding out of his chest and gritted his teeth as he fell towards a tree. He hit the bark harder than he’d have liked and landed on the leaf scattered ground, pain coursing through his body as he rolled up into a ball. Everything hurt, blood had started to well out of where he’d hit the tree, and as Tsukishima fluttered his eyes open, a new darkness fell over him.

The frightened angel hadn’t heard a certain silver haired friend who watched his striking from the far back of the crowd, slipping out of the crowd and quickly gathering supplies to help out the fallen angel. The kind hearted teen grabbed ink and paper and frantically scribbled a note, ignoring  another certain short haired companion who stood over, frustrated that his partner was trying to help out a fallen angel that could probably take care of himself, but not stopping him from his actions.

 

Tsukishima groaned as he rubbed his eyes and tried to get up. His usual angel outfit was replaced with a black T-shirt and shorts, but was already ruined with splotches of dried blood and dirt from the ground. Tsukishima tried to look around, ignoring the pain that weighed down his body, until he realized everything he saw was blurry.

“God dammit are human eyes really this terrible?” Tsukishima clicked his tongue and continued to rub his eyes, hoping it’d help out his vision in one way or another.

“I think it’s because you need glasses…”

Tsukishima whipped around and sharply inhaled as he noticed Yamaguchi standing there. “Wh…”

“Here” Yamaguchi handed him a pair of glasses along with a new pair of clothes.”This appeared nearby after you fell, I assume it’s from where you came from”

“Where did  _you_ come from?” Tsukishima wasted no time to put on the glasses and sigh as his vision cleared.

“Well after you disappeared, I waited for a few minutes and saw you crash into a tree nearby. It was really strange, but when I got to you you were passed out and stuff...then I found the glasses and...oh this note!” Yamaguchi handed Tsukishima a crumpled up note. Tsukishima grabbed it and unfolded it, his eyes quickly skimming the page.

_Tsukishima? I really hope you’re alright. I sent down some glasses and clothes; apparently your vision wasn’t very good as a human. I asked Daichi to look into information about your human self, much to his dismay, but it’s strange that Ushijima-san would send you on this mission right? Especially with your experience level? Unfortunately, nothing stood out so I’m still confused. I’d love to explain further but I can’t risk getting caught. Please stay safe, I’m sure you know what’s going to happen to you...you’re a strong angel, I’m sure you’ll be able to power through-_

The handwriting suddenly changed

_Tsukishima, Koushi’s putting his life on the line trying to help you out so you better live, k’?  -Daichi and Sugawara <3_

Tsukishima’s hands trembled as he got to the end of the letter. He knew what would be happening to him soon, ending in his eventual death. He already had the qualities of his past human life, evident with his mediocre vision, but soon his wings would start to burn off. Once they were gone...so was he. His soul would disappear, and he’d no longer be an angel or a human. Just a wandering soul that could never be reincarnated in any way. It was the worst punishment an angel could receive, and usually was only done to angels who had committed the worst of crimes.

Honestly speaking, Tsukishima didn’t know why he received this punishment, his mistake was a simple one and he didn’t have the experience to go through with what he was asked to do anyways...right?

On top of that, Sugawara and Daichi’s pleading weren’t going to give him a pass for death, surviving wing burning was nearly unheard of, and even if he lived through it, Ushijima would probably send an assassin to finish him off.

Tsukishima felt a hand on his shoulder. He moved to bat it away but immediately regretted it as pain shot up to his shoulder.

“Oh, sorry! Uh…”

“It’s Tsukishima”

‘...Tsukishima...uhm...you seem a bit...stiff? Do you think you can stand up?”

The fallen angel glowered at the boy for a few moments, but shifted his weight slowly until he managed to wobble up, but much to his dismay could barely hold his own weight for more a couple seconds. He bit his lip in frustration and decided on awkwardly leaning on a nearby tree instead. “If you count this as standing then yes, I’m as good as new” Tsukishima weakly gestured at himself, unwilling to complain about how hard it was to simply lean against a tree.

Yamaguchi still seemed worried but didn’t pester any further. Instead, he reached into his shorts to take out a handkerchief. “It’s not the best but you can use this to clean yourself off…” He tossed to small towel at the angel, shifted awkwardly from foot to foot as Tsukishima rubbed at the dried blood and dirt on his arms. The chilling silence between them made both of them uncomfortable, but after everything that had happened neither knew where to start talking.

Yamaguchi took a deep breath before questioning Tsukishima again. “I don’t know if it was because of the fire, but weren’t your wings white before?”

Tsukishima raised his eyebrows before realizing what he had said. He grimaced before opening his wings wide enough to see that they were ink black, and a small, frustrated breath left his lips. His once majestic, eagle like wings were withered and shaggy, still burned from the fire and achy when moved.

“You’re...right...It means I’m a traitor.” Tsukishima wasn’t sure why he was telling a human about himself, but fatigue kept him from complicating anything any more than it already was. “I was banned for the heavens so I’m stuck here now. My wings are black so that if any other angels see me they have permission to hurt me in any way they want.”

Yamaguchi’s eyes widened. “That’s…”

“But they’ll start burning soon anyways. Chances are I’ll die from losing my wings before any angels catch me.” Tsukishima felt guilt from bluntly ignoring Sugawara and Daichi’s determination and will for him to live. He clenched his fist, feeling a mixture of hope and dread fighting in his chest. The blond, shaking and gripping his hands into fists, didn’t notice the boy next to him just as torn, not knowing what to say at the fallen angel before him.

“I’m really sorry, I...didn’t know angels could die…” Yamaguchi’s eyes were filled with confused sympathy as he quietly stuttered out words.

“You shouldn’t have known angels existed in the first place.” Tsukishima rubbed at the dried blood on his arms and sat down, still putting his weight on the trunk of the tree. The gashes and burns on his body had healed over, and while they were delicate to the touch, were doing better than Tsukishima had expected. He scrunched his eyebrows before asking, “How long, exactly, was I passed out?”

Yamaguchi’s shoulders stiffened before he hastily replied, “From what I know not too long. Couple minutes maybe?” He gave a weak smile and a thumbs up.

Tsukishima gazed at Yamaguchi, suspicious, but didn’t say anything. He instead continued to pick at the blood on his skin, dark and crusted. He felt a constant wave of weak anxiety over his wings hovering over him; the thought that at any given moment his wings could start burning filled him with fear. It would be far from a quick death, most likely drawn out until he couldn’t handle the pain anymore and ripped the wings out himself.

“So do you by any chance know where we are? You weren’t just teleported here randomly, right?” The green haired teen changed the subject quickly, unwilling to sit in an awkward silence.

Tsukishima sighed before answering; he was still fatigued and was far from used to talking this much at once, but complied anyways. “All I know are coordinates, and unless you have an electronic map that can pinpoint our location I have no idea where we are.” He paused before continuing. “Don’t you have places to be? And why were you stuck in a fire in the first place?”

Yamaguchi scratched the back of his head. “Oh you know...camping trip with friends gone wrong...and I thought I might as well help you, better than laying around doing nothing right?”

The blond studied the other teen as he spoke. Whether or not he was lying couldn’t bother Tsukishima any less than what had already happened to him. He glanced away and let his mind wander with what he could do now. Abandon Yamaguchi and run away as fast as possible? As much as Tsukishima considered himself to enjoy isolation, he couldn’t help but want a companion at that moment. So then...try and heal up then travel with him? Yamaguchi probably had places he wanted to get to, and he’d probably want to find his friends. Would he be alone either way?

Tsukishima gritted his teeth and leaned over, head buried in his knees. Nothing had seemingly gone right for him and he could only ignore the ache in his body for so long. The darkness from before started to cloud his thoughts. The fallen angel didn’t fight it. He couldn’t share Sugawara or Daichi’s will to live and stay strong. All he could do was ride a wave of life, hope for the best, and accept the punishments that hit him along the way. Somewhere far away, Tsukishima felt a hand gently being placed on his shoulder. Was he imagining things? His thoughts darkened even more. He was conscious on a single thread, barely awake.

“It’s alright Tsukishima, there’s no way you’ll die from your wings burning, it’s a promise...alright?”

A faint whisper cut the string in Tsukishima’s mind. He let himself free, and swam in the calm world of the painless realm of his subconscious, for once at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins~


	2. Newcomers

 

The bright, full moon glowed brightly as Tsukishima squinted his eyes awake. He searched around lazily with his hands to find his glasses placed neatly next to him. Unsure whether or not to be confused, the angel put his glasses on and stretched his arms. Looking up, he noticed thousands of stars shimmering like glass, covering the deep blue sky in an array of light. A small breath escaped his lips. He’d never looked up at the night sky as an angel, much less in such an isolated place where there was no pollution, buildings, or artificial light to blind the human population from embracing the beauty of the sky.

Several minutes passed of calm silence, the only sound being the light rustling of leaves and chirping from nearby insects. Tsukishima hardly moved, and instead kept a steady gaze at the stars, his pupils shining in pure awe.

Not until a crow flew overhead was the angel distracted enough to finally break eye contact above the trees. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen or heard any sign of Yamaguchi. Perhaps he slipped away in the middle of the night? Tsukishima shrugged. He’d expected that, and yet was surprised to feel a pang of sadness in his chest. Tsukishima shifted his weight to try and get up before noticing the extra pair of clothes Yamaguchi had given him earlier beside him. He had said that appeared beside him when he fell...possibly also sent from Sugawara though no mention of clothes had been said in his letter.

As Tsukishima studied the clothes, a clumsy banter of steps distracted him. He looked up to see a certain green haired teen knee high in the bushes nearby. The angel raised his eyebrows. “I thought you’d left or something.”

Yamaguchi chuckled. “I wouldn’t just leave you, though I apologize if my first impression made me seem like that type of person.” He stepped out of the bushes as Tsukishima sat taken back at the sudden sarcastic comment.

The young teen walked over, dropping a bag as he stood by Tsukishima. “I still expected you to be asleep, but I have some supplies to help with your wounds...and stuff.”

Tsukishima stared at the cloth filled with medical supplies, ranging from simple alcohol rubbing to a needle and thread for stitches. “Where...on earth...did you find this…?”

“Oh you know the local 7/11”

“The seven what-”

“Nevermind…”

Yamaguchi bent over and shuffled through the bag, taking out an ace bandage roll. He glanced at Tsukishima’s body before quietly asking, “Does anything feel really sore? Sprained or broken? I knew you stood before but you can’t be too careful…”

The angel paused. He gently maneuvered so that he was in place to get up before slowly standing. His legs wobbled but he was able to stand without much pain, to Tsukishima’s surprise. “I guess I’m fine.” His monotone voice hid the relief coursing through his body. Having a broken or sprained limb at this moment could not have ended well.

“That’s great! Maybe you can try walking? We’ll want to get moving as soon as possible if we want to get out of this forest.” Yamaguchi smiled, dropping the ace bandage roll back into the cloth bag.

“Leave?” The blond angel, shaking as he struggled to stay balanced, stared at the teen in front of him with confusion.

“Well yeah, don’t you want to go somewhere more...I dunno livable? There’s hardly anything to eat here...and you’ll need food as soon as possible if you want to heal quickly.”

Tsukishima gazed blankly at Yamaguchi. The things he said were right. And pretty obvious, though they never crossed Tsukishima’s mind. As an angel, he never had to worry about food or having to find anywhere to live, most of his past jobs were one day things. Plus, being able to move would probably be used to the now fallen angel.

He leaned forward, taking a small step. His legs felt like they’d give out under him at any minute, but he stayed up. Yamaguchi leaned forward to lend him a hand, but Tsukishima batted it away. “I’m fine.”

“Oh...yeah, alright…” Yamaguchi stepped back, glancing away and staring off past the bushes where he’d originally appeared. His brows scrunched subtly as he asked, “Are you alright on your own?”

Legs shaking, Tsukki looked up at the green haired teen. “Ah yes I’m doing perfectly well right now.”

“That’s good...” Yamaguchi distantly replied before he spun around and left the way he came, leaving a confused and stuck Tsukishima behind.

“What...what?!” Tsukishima stretched his arm forward before his knees buckled and sent him tumbling to the ground. He didn’t think Yamaguchi would just straight up leave, but he also hadn’t thought he could become a fallen angel. He sighed, shifting his position so his knees were pressed up to his chest by his arms. He tilted his head back, his glasses reflecting the bright moonlight.

Several hours had passed. Tsukishima was already used to sitting around doing nothing, but now he wanted nothing more than a distraction. Anything besides flinching at the breaking of a branch or crinkling of leaves as a hare ran past. He’d lived his entire life as an angel not caring and living in the shadows, only putting in enough effort not to get demoted to any lower of a class than he was. Somehow he’d gone from a nobody to one of the most infamous types of angels known to the heavens. When had it all changed? The obvious answer was when he saved Yamaguchi, but he couldn’t shake off the idea that that hadn’t been the only reason he was struck to earth. It could be that he hadn’t put enough effort into his jobs, but he never technically messed up. If the high lord didn’t think he deserved his rank, he could have easily lowered it. But striking him down? Tsukishima clicked his tongue. Overthinking and worrying were Sugawara and Daichi’s job. Were they rubbing off on him? A wave of fatigue hit him. He’d hardly been awake since he’d become a fallen angel, but honestly didn’t mind. He felt himself doze off, laying on the ground as the first rays of sunshine hit his face. He slept through the sun rising, basking his wounded body with soft red light.

  
  


Waking up left Tsukishima with an intense sense of deja vu. For once the sun was high in the sky and the air around Tsukishima felt warm against his skin. His glasses were still on his face, and as the angel went to clean them he heard distant yelling. Was that Yamaguchi? No...no definitely not Yamaguchi. These voices sent a prickly wave of annoyance through his spine, similar to how he felt when Tendou giddily treated him like his son. The voices got louder, clearer now.

“Hinata-boke! He’s gonna hear us!”

“It’s fine, Yamaguchi-kun said he could sleep for days! And speak the right language!”

Tsukishima then heard a rustle of leaves follow by a loud thud.

“Stupid Kageyama!...I’m a ninja you can’t hit-”

Another thud. Then two bodies tumbling out of the bushes. Right up to his feet.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Tsukishima scooted backwards slowly. He considered all the bad things that had happened up until now, deciding this was already high on the list. “What do you want.” His voice was filled with heavy spite.

The orange haired teen in front of his gazed at his with sparkling eyes. “Are you Tsuk...Tsuki…”

“Hinata-boke. It’s Tsukishima, and of course it's him, he’s just like Yamaguchi described.” The dark haired teen next to who he assumed to be Hinata answered back. He also stared at Tsukishima, navy eyes focusing on the disheveled angel.

Not only did they already make Tsukishima want to get away as fast as possible, they obviously weren’t in the mood to answer questions. They mentioned they knew Yamaguchi...if they were telling the truth. Tsukishima blinked. No...these teens didn’t seem smart enough to try and manipulate a random angel in the forest.

“Wow, he really does have wings! Do you see them Kageyama? Look they’re black too!”

“Of course I can see them! Are you really that surprised?”

Tsukishima continued to scoot. He bumped against the tree and proceeded to stand up. Hinata and Kageyama were throwing a series of slaps and punches at each other and were a tangled mess once Tsukishima hobbled away. He was stepping into the bushes when a certain orange haired teen started yelling.

“Tsukishima?! Where are you going?! Yamaguchi said you shouldn’t be walking around so much! Uh...Uhm?” Hinata was flailing his arms while he hopped in front of the angel, his short stature keeping him from being able to see eye to eye with the blond. Tsukishima clicked his tongue and sluggishly moved to go in the other direction, but Kageyama blocked his path.

The three teens awkwardly stood together, Hinata pacing around while Tsukishima and Kageyama held cool glares with each other.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The trio all flipped their heads in the direction of the familiar voice.

“Yamaguchi! Uh...fancy seeing you here!” Hinata chuckled nervously.

Kageyama placed his hand on the back of his head. “We’ve...been spotted…”

Tsukishima stayed silent. He just flipped his gaze from Hinata and Kageyama back to Yamaguchi.

“Hinata? And Kageyama too...please don’t tell me...ah...well...it was gonna happen eventually…” Yamaguchi sighed, walking over and put his arms out, gesturing towards Tsukishima and the orange and navy haired teen by him. “Tsukishima...this is Hinata and Kageyama. They were the people I was camping with when the forest fire came…and this is Tsukishima, you’ve heard about him already…”

Tsukishima raised his eyebrows and felt his heart drop. “You...told them about me…” It was more of a statement than a question, but he still searched for an answer. Yamaguchi glanced at him and shrugged apologetically, chuckling lightly.

“Y-yeah...sorry...it was hard to keep it a secret.”

This raised questions for the intellectual angel. “So you found them awhile ago…”

“What? Oh...uh…” Yamaguchi paused, voice trailing off as he finished the sentence early.

Tsukishima sighed. He’d get answers later. For now, he needed space. Never had he had to deal with this many annoying people at the same time. Yamaguchi was bearable, but Hinata and Kageyama were a whole different story.

“Hey Tsukishima, you haven’t changed into the clothes Yamaguchi got you?” Hinata picked up the nearby T-shirt and shorts, shoving them into Tsukishima’s face.

Yamaguchi scrambled to grab the clothing out of the giddy boy’s hands and shushed him loudly.

“You got them…?” Tsukishima raised his eyebrows. He reached forward to take the clothing, noticing how two hole were messily ripped on the back to fit his wings through. Biting his lip, he hastily folded the clothes and wobbled away.

“Tsukishima? Where are you going…?” The green haired teen softly asked, feet planted to the ground with his arm outstretched.

“To change.” Tsukishima held up the clothes, walking out of sight.

  
  


Tsukishima could not have been more annoyed. Upon his return, the group has decided to all try and get out of the forest. All of them. Together. The blond couldn’t stop clicking his tongue as he watched the orange and navy haired duo at each other’s necks over every little thing.

“What do you mean I don’t have a sense of direction?” There went that stupid blueberry, all over Hinata.

“You just walk in circles! At least I get us somewhere” Hinata stuck his tongue out. Kageyama, taken aback, strutted ahead to lead the way. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi sighed, matching their exasperation.

“Kageyama...this way…” Yamaguchi calmly pointed towards the opposite direction that the dark haired teen had been trying to walk towards. “We just came from there…” Kageyama hesitated before quickly walking in the right direction with a giggly Hinata behind him.

They continued walking, Hinata and Kageyama continuing to argue as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima watching quietly. It wasn’t until the sun fell and the group decided to stop for the night that anything different happened. Hinata and Kageyama were out finding sticks for a fire when Tsukishima suddenly doubled over in pain, an intense sting pounding through his back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end of what I wrote awhile back so it should improve from here woooo


	3. Decisions to Make

Searing shots of fiery burning rippled through Tsukishima’s shoulder blades as he buckled over, gritting his teeth in a feeble attempt to mask his cries. Around him he could faintly hear a unison of his name being called but failed to muster any reply. The angel rolled onto his side, wings drawing up puffs of dust around him as he writhed in pain.

“What’s happening?”

“Hinata-boke he’s in pain!”

“I know  _that_ , I’m asking why-”

“His wings are burning”

Tsukishima somehow found comfort in the interruption from the familiar gentle voice. He focused his mind on it, eyebrows furrowed and fists balled tight enough to leave his knuckles bright white.

“Its his...punishment. Apparently because he failed a mission…” Yamaguchi’s voice trailed off. The blonde could feel a somber gaze rest upon him, followed by a gentle touch on his arm. He hissed nervously, barely able to fight his urge to slap the hand away, relaxing only when he heard Yamaguchi’s quiet murmurs that it was okay. An overlap of mumbles, presumably from the orange and navy bundles of absolute  _joy_ was the last thing Tsukishima could hear before his vision gave in, sending him into an eternal fall into darkness that wrapped around him and refused to let go. This was the end...wasn’t it. This was it.

 

POV change: Yamaguchi

Yamaguchi bit his lip nervously as he watched the angel before him pass out. Beside his Hinata and Kageyama circled around like squirrels, inspecting the unconscious lump with curious gazes.

“We should bring him to Oikawa-san” Hinata piped. He looked over at Yamaguchi, eyes showing a genuine concern for the fallen angel.

“SHHHH idiot what if he hears?” Kageyama hit Hinata over the head, ducking when a kick came back his way.

“He’s obviously passed out so I don’t see the issue” Hinata stuffed his face close to the other’s, coaxing a reply. Yamaguchi sighed, running his fingers through the blond hair of the angel.

“Hinata’s right...Oikawa-san’s the only one who can deal with this sort of stuff” Yamaguchi watched Hinata’s eyes light up smugly as Kageyama glared at them both.

“Okay, so we’re just supposed to drag him around? That’s just asking for us to get attacked”

Yamaguchi couldn’t argue against that, and based on the dreary change in Hinata’s expression he agreed. Several moments passed, a soft breeze whispering by as a tense silence set the atmosphere.

“What if we just change forms and find Kenma?”

Of course Hinata broke the silence. Nevertheless he gave the short teen a distant, shocked look before looking to Kageyama for his input. Much to his surprise the latter just shrugged.

“It’d make travel easier…”

Now the looks were locked onto him. Yamaguchi gulped, beads of sweat running down his forehead from the stressful situation. On one hand, orders were not to change forms unless absolutely necessary. On another hand, angels were known to kill “kitsune” on sight. But on the other other hand Tsukishima didn’t kill him in the first place. But then again if Tsukishima came to and saw them he may try to escape. But…

He took a deep breath. Hinata and Kageyama held their breath in suspense.

“Let’s find Kenma” He closed his eyes and let a familiar warm sensation course through his limbs all the way to the edge of his finger tips. He took a deep breath, exhaling through his teeth slowly while those around him watched quietly. Several moments later, followed by a few shakes of his arms and it was done.

Though his appearance wasn’t entirely different, certain aspects were clearly...new. From his head were fox-like ears, only slightly browner than his hair and tufted at the tips. His messy tail wagged away several leaves and Yamaguchi relished in the return of his heightened senses. He glanced expectantly at Kageyama and Hinata who both hastily transformed.

Hinata’s ears and tail were small but as bright as his hair in color. Being a Kitsune only encouraged him to hop around like a maniac, his boundless stamina somehow more intense than when he was just a human. Kageyama’s ears and tail also matched his hair, though the tips of his ears were tipped in white. Hinata never missed an opportunity to coo over them, murmuring that they were cute and enjoying the blushy reaction of the Kitsune.

Best case scenario was that they could find Kenma, transport back to the Hell Realm, convince Oikawa to save Tsukishima and bring him back to Earth before he regained consciousness. Yamaguchi had little faith in it working out but he was too far into this mess to back out.

“Hinata, can you find Kenma?”

The two Kitsune were close, making it easier to find each other whether it was by scent or call. The orange teen nodded his head quickly, fingers curled into a fist in excitement over the task. His nose twitched, eyes closed and breath escaped his lips. Shoulders relaxing, Hinata allowed any and all signs of Kenma to present themself to him.

The other boys waited silently, though Yamaguchi couldn’t resist smiling as he noticed Kageyama longingly admiring the focused boy, forehead scrunched and lips pursed as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Despite how much the two argued and scuffled, they spent just as much time aweing over each other in secret. It was almost ironic how many people knew a relationship was inevitable besides the two boys themself. Matsukawa and Hanamaki even made bets over it. Iwaizumi had sighed when he watched them snickering in the corner inspecting the lovebirds at hand while Oikawa somehow managed to make an uwu face in real life. How he did it, nobody would ever know. Apparently it was a “Benefit to Being the King”.  

“I got it!”

Yamaguchi perked his ears, shaking his head back into reality. Kageyama also quickly looked away, avoiding any chance of Hinata knowing he had been stared down. He grunted as his picked Tsukishima up, hoisting his legs up to carry his bridal style.

“Lead the way” Yamaguchi was surprised at how light the angel was, though the heat from his burning wings prevented travelling from being any easier. While the burning itself seemed to be easing, Yamaguchi didn’t expect the angel to be waking up anytime soon. He padded behind Hinata, who was chattering away at Kageyama mindlessly with one ear perked in the direction to walk. He looked back at where he’d been just a few days ago. He, Hinata, Kageyama, and Kenma (dragged along by Hinata), had been given permission to explore earth, as long as they stayed within the perimeter of the desolate forest. Things were great till the fire occurred, separating the crew and directly leading to meeting Tsukishima. He couldn’t shake the intense fear that had washed over him in that moment. He’d forgotten the angel couldn’t see or sense he was a Kitsune, and panicked. The unwritten rule to act human was the last sliver of hope for Yamaguchi, but once realizing his life was safe he could finally breathe. After that was finding Hinata, who was of course with Kageyama, and thankfully they hadn’t been far. What a chaotic mess. Lucky? Sure. But not much.

Eventually even Hinata ran out of material to mumble about. They walked in silence, Yamaguchi frequently shifting how he carried Tsukishima but refusing the others’ offers to help. Spotted light glimmered through the leafy tree branches as they travelled further away from where the fire had ravaged the forest. Birds were singing in the distance, bushes rustling as small mammals scampered around. A clearing soon came into view and Hinata, perhaps a bit too loudly, hollored,

“KENMAAAAAAAAAA” Before rushing forward and jumping for a small Kitsune sitting on a slab of stone. Kenma calmly shifted to the side, eyes squinting as the gust of wind caused by Hinata shooting past him ruffled his hair.

“Shouyou...I’m glad you’re okay” Kenma turned his head to check on Hinata, who’d landed face first into the grass.

 _That’s what he considers okay?_ Yamaguchi giggled. Kenma wasn’t wrong, it’d be more worrisome if Hinata simply walked up to a friend to say hello. The duo-hair colored boy looked up at him, noticing the angel in his arms and raised his eyebrows warily. He looked back at the quickly recovering Hinata, back to Yamaguchi, over to Kageyama before trailing back to Yamaguchi. He shrugged.

“We found an angel! But he’s friendly, I think. According to Yamaguchi at least. But his wings went FWAH and then he passed out so we want to bring him to Oikawa-san!” Hinata bounced up and down while using his arms to reenact his words.

“Fw-fwah…?” Kenma blinked, calmly accepting the story before urging Yamaguchi to put Tsukishima down on the stone. “I suppose if you all think he’s safe then it’s okay. Can’t promise the others will agree though.” The teen was in his kitsune form, having quickly transformed the moment the fire began lapping at their heels. He’d been the only one given the ability to get the group between Realms, on behalf of his connection with Kuroo.

“Can you handle bringing an Angel with us too?” Yamaguchi inquired softly. From what he knew, bringing groups between realms could be difficult and an added member, especially one that wasn’t conscious or a Kitsune, could only make the journey that much harder.  

The calculating feline gaze Kenma responded with sent a shiver down his spine. “Kuroo is on the other side and you guys aren’t too hard to transfer. It should be alright…” As usual, Kenma’s reply was straightforward and honest. Yamaguchi bit his lip. Coming from Kenma, that was strangely comforting. They were gonna save Tsukishima. He wasn’t sure why that sent such a warm sense of relief through his body. It wasn’t as though they were close friends. But somehow, knowing the short tempered Angel had a chance to live, it was as though a small fragment of his own soul was also safe to live another day.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good boys


	4. Highway to Hell

Yamaguchi’s moment of peace didn’t last long. Just as Kenma stood to stretch in a hauntingly cat-like way, a bright flash of light propelled him into Hinata’s flailing arms. The Kitsune held their breath in anticipation. As their eyes adjusted and luminescence faded, two winged figures came into view. Yamaguchi tensed, eyes flicking to Kenma who shot back a knowing gaze.

_Angels._

He curled his fingers into a fist, ready to pounce when the taller figure hopped forward with his hands up submissively.

The Angel, beaming with excitement, hooted to the bewildered boys. “Hey hey HEEEEYYYY no need to be tense! We’re on your side!”

“Bokuto-san, that will make them more suspicious…” As the smaller figure gave the group a small bow, the other-called Bokuto-san?-gave the former a dejected face. “Hello, please do excuse his...entrance. He means well. As he said, we’re here to help you and Tsukishima out”. The dark haired teen gestured to Tsukishima’s unconscious body. “My name is Akaashi Keiji, this here is Boku-”

“You can call me Bokuto-senpai!”

“-to Koutarou”

Yamaguchi’s jaw dropped agap as he watched the situation unfurl before him. He blinked once. Twice. Then once more before finally croaking out a reply.

“Uhm...Why?” He bit his lip. He could have probably worded that better.

Akaashi didn’t seem to mind. Instead, with one hand on Bokuto’s shoulder to settle him down, he stepped forward tentatively and reached his free arm out, note in hand.

“We’re working with someone Tsukishima knows. It’s unfortunate he’s feeling the effects so soon but this is what Sugawara-san gave us to show him.”

A silence fell over the crowd. Bokuto and Hinata were visibly vibrating in place while two dark haired teens held their respective partner down in place. Yamaguchi’s hand seemed to grasp the note on impulse, eyes scanning the symbols on the paper but not absorbing what he read. The handwriting was familiar, but Yamaguchi couldn’t fight the rising panic deep in his core.

To his side, Kenma was staring down Akaashi. Looking at him was a terrible idea-the second he saw the striking battle between two analytical minds a distressing shiver scaled his spine. The light seemed to have left their eyes, pupils burning into each other gathering untold information with every tense second passed. The note in Yamaguchi’s hand crumpled in his tight fist as Kenma suddenly spoke.

“We can trust them”

Yamaguchi sighed. His lungs were on the verge of collapse and he reveled in the fresh intake of oxygen he could finally take. Bokuto’s eyes lit up while Akaashi nodded in gratitude.

“Why...are you here? Tsukishima said he was practically on a hit list as of now” Yamaguchi surprised himself with how level his voice was. Perhaps it was the confirmation from the note and Kenma. Perhaps he just wanted to trust the strangers.

“Well y’see, Akaashi and I are part of a... _secret group_ ”

The white and black haired Angel rubbed his hands together as he fluttered his golden eyes into a sly squint, mouth curled into a mischievous smile, shockingly similar to someone Yamaguchi knew. He seemed to give a dramatic moment of silence before continuing.

“Our Lord...his name is Ushijima Wakatoshi...we don’t agree with how he runs things. So being the brave, wonderful, and courageous soul I am I decided-”

“We”

“-We decided to create a super cool super secret group to rebel against him!”

Bokuto put his arms in a V-Formation, pausing expectantly before Akaashi quietly sighed and gave a short applause.

“Someone Tsukishima knows well is part of this group and asked us to help out.”

Kenma’s eyes flicked up. “The Sugawara-san you mentioned earlier?”

The dark haired Angel nodded. “It was too risky for him to come again. We were hoping Tsukishima would be in better condition but we’ll still try to do what we can.”

Yamaguchi bit his lip, knowing full well how bad he was at absorbing this much information at once. A figure walked by and bumped his shoulder, stalking up to the Angels.

“Oi, Kageyama what are you-”

“Shut up”

Hinata froze in place, eyes reeling in what Yamaguchi could only assume to be traumatic Kageyama related memories.

“Do you have proof you can even help us? We already have a plan”

Akaashi held a steady gaze with him. “Oikawa-san can only do so much. Ushijima-san will soon make it a priority to dispose of him, no matter who gets hurt in the process.”

Kageyama stiffened. His eyes twitched and eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed tightly together. “What can you do for us?” His voice was laced with a thick layer of defeat but any will to argue had dissipated.

Pointing to the note in Yamaguchi’s hand, Akaashi continued. “Coordinates. For where Ushijima will be sending Angels to deal with Tsukishima and perform other missions. While you can try and stop his wings from killing him, you know full well he can’t stay in the Hell Realm long.”

Another silence pierced the air. Yamaguchi averted his gaze with the Angels and stared at the dirt while Hinata gently kicked a small stone away. Akaashi sighed. “Just...get him somewhere safe and stay away from the coordinates. One of us will be back in touch”. And with a final respectful bow and flurry of waves from Bokuto, the two Angels disappeared in a familiar brilliant blaze of light.  

 

“I mean it could have gone worse”

“Don’t jinx it idiot”

Despite Kageyama’s quick retort back, Yamaguchi found comfort in Hinata’s charismatic chirp in the midst of the chaotic situation. He took a deep breath, exhaling as he sat down on the slab of stone where Tsukishima lay. The sound of scuffling boys muted in the Kitsune’s ears as he inspected the Angel’s face. His short, curly blond hair complimented his face shape well, eyelashes longer than Yamaguchi expected. The Angel’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as though he were in discomfort and rectangular glasses tilting as they slowly slid off his pale face. Yamaguchi gently reached a trembling hand to his cheek, clutching the rim of the glasses and shifting them back into place, fingers brushing unfamiliar skin.  _Soft..._ He held his hand by Tsukishima’s face a heartbeat too long before hastily crossing both arms around his waist in a defensive position. “We-we should get going. If you’re all ready”.

Kenma was quickly prepared, prowling towards Tsukishima’s body before giving Yamaguchi the okay. Hinata and Kageyama took another several moments to untangle but managed to pounce quickly into place as well. A ripple of anticipation poured through the group as they linked arms, Yamaguchi and Kenma holding onto either side of Tsukishima’s body. They all nodded, and with a quiet, “It’s now or never” Kenma’s eyes fluttered, pupil’s dimming and blond ears twitching. His grip tightened, forehead scrunching and lips mumbling a silent slur of phrases.

Yamaguchi felt a familiar surge in his stomach as his thoughts turned murky and sensation of falling overwhelmed his body. For a few desolate seconds, he couldn’t hear, think, or see anything but empty darkness. The only thing latching him onto consciousness was his nervous grip on Tsukishima’s shirt, fabric ruffled under his tense fingers.

A sharp jerk and feeling of ground beneath him finally ended the vertigo trip. Yamaguchi’s teeth chattered.  _Ugh...I’ll never get used to that._ With one final shiver and shake of his tail, Yamaguchi opened his eyes and scanned the room. It was small, chairs and a single couch lazily pushed up against the walls that showcased peeling wallpaper.

“Kuroo...you chose the one room that confirms any stereotypes about us.” Kenma rested his chin on his bent knees, arms linked lazily around them. “We have a guest…” A small bead of sweat glistened on the small teen’s head, a rare sight to see with the usually laid back, lazy boy.

“Hey, this room’s comfy. No stereotypes confirmed here.” A tall Kitsune, inky hair half poking the air like a porcupine while the rest draped over his eye like a curtain, shrugged nonchalantly and made his way towards Kenma. His eyes flicked over to Tsukishima’s body suspiciously but he kept a toothy smile plastered onto his face. He bent down, mimicking Kenma’s position and gazed into the blond brunette’s eyes. His dark ears pointed towards the teen as he wiped the sweat off the smaller boy’s head in one smooth motion. “No need to be so exasperated”.

Kenma grabbed Kuroo’s raised arm, pushing it back to its original position. “We need Oikawa-san to look over the newcomer. I’ll explain later.” A heartbeat of silence passed, Kuroo’s expression stupefied before he casually huffed in defeat and stood up, turning to analyze the Angel’s body. Yamaguchi shifted closer, hand still gently clinging onto fabric. Quickly realizing the implication, the Kitsune continued to maneuver around and clumsily picked Tsukishima up. “Lead the way Kuroo-san!...If that’s what we’re doing...” The taller boy chuckled and motioned them to the door, slipping into the shadows as a line of Kitsune trailed after him.

 

It was a mindless walk navigating through the winding hallways that Kuroo seemed to know like the back of his hand. The tall Kitsune was hunched over, perking up only when Kenma mumbled a quiet, “that’s gonna damage your spine”. Hinata and Kageyama were bickering as usual, though it seemed vastly toned down since arriving back to the Hell Realm. While their King often visited the public, barging into his personal room sparked a tinge of remorse in all the teens.  Their hushed voices soon morphed into tense silence as they rounded a corner and stood before a tall door. Pillar-like structures surrounded the metallic door on both sides, glistening like marbles in the peaceful hallway.

“Oy, Mattsun, Makki. Got some visitors for you-know-who”. Kuroo gave a casual thumbs up to the two guards slouching by the door before pointing behind him.

“Ooooh, visitors?”

“Eh heh heh, better be good”

The two boys chuckled sarcastically before inspecting the crowd. Matsukawa, curly thick hair and eyebrows and all squinted over Kuroo’s shoulder to Yamaguchi precariously holding Tsukishima. He rubbed his eyes several times before slowly making eye contact with Kuroo again. “Wh….”

“Kuroo are you serious?” Hanamaki leaned over Matsukawa’s shoulder, thin eyebrows raised and pale brown ears flicking back.  

“Apparently it's a long story, and Kenma just brought them all back insisting they see Oikawa” Kuroo included a hint of urgency in his voice, acknowledging the panicking boys behind him.

Matsukawa pursed his lips. “Kenma...insisted?”

“Wow…”

“Wack…”

Despite both guard’s heavy sarcasm, a noticeable genuine surprise peeked through their calm stature. A silent consideration passed between them as Kuroo leaned on his right leg. The guards weren’t known for their pertinacity unless the situation was dire and hopefully,  _hopefully_ their partiality for Kuroo would allow them to go in.

Yamaguchi squirmed in place as steady heat pounded from the root of Tsukishima’s wings. He restrained the urge to speak up, and instead switched intense glances between the three authoritative members before him, irritation and impatience crawling through.

Apparently his message got through because with a quick in-sync shrug, the guards opened the door to shofur the group inside.

Kuroo gave a wave of thanks as he stepped in, snorting at the sight of the others following huddled closely like ducklings. Matsukawa and Hanamaki trailed behind them, now leaning on the opposite side of the door to indulge in the coming conversation.

The group looked up, eyes immediately drawn to the silver accented chair built on the furthest wall. It twinkled gently, reflecting distorted images where the mineral stones were integrated. Contrasting the glint was the dark textured chair itself, carved into with subtle fox-inspired designs. Sitting snugly on the seat was Oikawa Tooru, staring down at the trembling teens with perplexed almond eyes that carefully scanned each and every one of them. He uncrossed his legs slowly, dramatically, placing an arm on each side of him before springing towards the group. His multitude of creamy tails, one of which was cut abnormally short, slithered behind him as smoothly as a river. His expression quickly grew warm, hazel eyes sparkling and bright smile infectious. “Heeeeey! If it isn’t my not favorite group of boys!” He hopped forward and frisked Kageyama out, pulling at his cheeks giddily. “Tobio-chan what are you doing here? And with an Angel no less? Little boy finally entering his rebellious years?” He smirked, wildly appreciating Kageyama’s frozen state of shock and contempt. Suddenly, a loud THUD echoed in the room leaving Oikawa twitching on the ground.

“Shitty-kawa I don’t care what convoluted grudge you have but at least  _try_ to act mature for once?” The new Kitsune reached over and picked up Oikawa by the collar of his surprisingly casual shirt and plopped him back on his feet. “You’re seriously glazing over the fact that an Angel-an angel!- with  _black_ wings is unconscious in that kid’s arms so you can poke fun at your kohai?”

Oikawa whimpered. “Iwa-chan so mean! Of course I see the Angel, what’s wrong with lightening the mood first?’ He pouted, puppy eyeing Iwaizumi but to no avail.

“I swear you drained your ‘smart leader meter’ long ago and now we just have an idiotic child to rule the entire realm”.

“Iwa-chan was that a compliment I heard?”

“How the fuck was th-”

Kuroo coughed obnoxiously. The two men whipped their heads around, following Kuroo’s steady gaze at Tsukishima.

“Iwa-chan distracting me again, tsk tsk” The Realm King dodged Iwaizumi’s incoming punch as he stuffed his face close to Tsukishima’s. In a single stride his entire demeanor changed. It was almost...remorseful. Yamaguchi shuddered, taking an extra second to notice Oikawa’s gesture to take the Angel himself. He took the unconscious teen, gently bringing him over to a nearby desk and placing him on his side. Iwaizumi peeked over the King’s shoulder, watching as Oikawa caressed the base of the ashy, singed wings. “I assume you brought him in to save him?” Oikawa turned his face slightly, eyes not leaving the Angel’s back but craning enough for the group to hear. Yamaguchi nodded, biting his lip until realizing Oikawa couldn’t see him and murmured a quiet mumble of agreement.

“Guess Ushiwaka-chan is punishing kids now too” With a loathsome retort, Oikawa flicked an arm in the air, gesturing the group to leave. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, surprised at how quickly the King obliged with such limited information. Deep in his heart he knew the familiarity of the scene, wondering if his partner had taken pity based on it.

“Well kids it’s adult time let’s go let’s go” Hanamaki herded the teens, bumping their sides to coax them out the now open door. Yamaguchi stared back at Tsukishima’s body, eye’s sparkling with worried dismay as he avoided Hanamaki’s goading to show him out. Oikawa was already laser-focused on the Angel, a soft glowing hand hovering over the worst of the burn. Iwaizumi took quick notice, padding over to the green haired teen and placing a strong hand on his shoulder. With a surprisingly comforting gruff voice he whispered, “Despite all his antics, Oikawa knows what he’s doing. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” The Kitsune gave a subtle smile and lead the teen out the door. “We’ll call you all back when he’s ready. Your little friend is in good hands” And with an echo, the door was closed, leaving a breathless group of Kitsune suddenly realizing just what they had done.

“Guys...did we. Did we just-“

Yamaguchi finished Hinata’s trailing sentence.

“We just brought an Angel to the Hell Realm. We brought a Fallen Angel and we brought him to save him. And Oikawa-san agreed...”

The group shared a mutual feeling. Surprised? Of course.

But regretful?

 

Not one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmmmmMMM here we goooOO


	5. Awaken

POV Change: Iwaizumi

 

Several hours had passed since the pale-faced boys were shuffled out of the room. Iwaizumi loomed over Oikawa, arms linked around his waist and chin nestled in the crook of his neck and collar-bone. “How’s he looking?”

The King pressed his cheek to Iwaizumi’s, exhaling slowly. “He’ll recover. Just tedious” His voice was strained with fatigue but his nimble fingers continued to delicately treat the raw skin ravaged all down the Angel’s back.  

“Too tired to even tease affection huh?” Iwaizumi traced his arm to the tip of Oikawa’s fingers, gently interlacing them with his as the glow emanating off the King’s hands dimmed. “You hardly know the kid’s story. Don’t overwork yourself to erase your past regrets, alright?”

Oikawa chuckled softly. “Iwa-chan, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about”. Iwaizumi glared, seeing right through the taller man’s feeble attempt to dodge the suggestion.

“You’ve stopped the burning, right? We can treat the rest without using up your magic. Bandage him up and rest, or I’ll just do it myself.”

Oikawa leaned back, taking another deep breath. “Are you my mother Iwa-chan?” His lips twitched into a sly grin as Iwaizumi grumbled, pinching him with his free arm.

“I’m serious Oikawa. You’ve got other responsibilities too”. With that, he dislodged himself and strolled away to lean against the wall. Arms crossed he bore his eyes into Oikawa’s flustered figure until the latter began to bandage up the Angel. His experienced skillset enabled the task to be done quickly and cleanly, leaving Oikawa biting his inner cheek as he scowled back at Iwaizumi.

“Other responsibilities? Is my little Iwa-chan lonely because I’m not giving him attention?” Oikawa let his eyes twinkle mischievously.

“You little shit, I never implied that-”

“Shhh Iwa-chan you’re grumpy when you touch-deprived” Oikawa purred and prowled up to Iwaizumi’s stiff figure, long tails grazing the edge of his skin. He’d had one finger under the blushing boy’s chin when he suddenly stumbled forward, dead weight in Iwaizumi’s arms.

The shorter man grunted, shifting the body in his arms more comfortably. He sighed apathetically. “Is it even worth saying I told you so?” A slurred whine confirmed the King was conscious, and with a few hastily taken breaths he propped himself back up. One arm still clung to Iwaizumi’s shoulder, but he was standing nonetheless.

“That ruined the moment, ugh” Oikawa’s eyes were half-lidded as he regained his original position. “Can I try again?” He twirled a finger in the air.

“Moment’s over Shittykawa” Iwaizumi sauntered forward-cheeks still a faint pink- propping Oikawa’s body weight on his side and made his way towards a door in a dark corner. Kicking open the door revealed a cozy room, no bigger than the one they were in now, and Iwaizumi promptly lugged Oikawa over and onto the bed. “Sleep Shithead, I’m gonna tell the kids that Angel’s patched up.” He took a step back before adding, “If you aren’t asleep by the time I return-”

“I get it mom…” Oikawa waved him away. “Not even like I can move much anyways” He yawned; body quickly overwhelmed with exhaustion. Before winking off to sleep, the King managed to mumble a quiet, “Thanks, Hajime…” to the figure by the door.

Iwaizumi grinned. Not one of celebration or laughter after a funny joke. Just a pure, genuine grin. “Sleep well, Tooru”

  
  


“Hey, angel-boy’s bandaged up if you want to see him”

Several pairs of eyes flicked up to meet Iwaizumi’s gaze as he knocked on the doorframe to the cramped room. In the corner was a couch, old and battered but a fan favorite to nap on by those who lived in the premise. Currently, Kenma was vacantly sprawled across it, head in Kuroo’s lap as he barked at Hinata and Kageyama to quiet. Yamaguchi was in a seat, resting his chin on his arms balanced on a round desk. The room itself was one of many any Kitsune could enter to relax or work, or in this case, wait for a mysterious boy to heal.

“Really? Is he awake?” Hinata piped excitedly, bouncing over Kageyama to scuttle closer to Iwaizumi.

“Unfortunately, no. Though he’ll probably be less panicked if he wakes up to a familiar face”.

A flurry of worried glances was met between the teens. Iwaizumi pursed his lips.

“Something the matter?”

The room turned to Yamaguchi. He meagerly twiddled his fingers, gnawing at his lip. Ears flipped back he replied, “Tsukishima passed out before he knew we’re Kitsunes. There’s a chance he’ll react badly to that…”

Kuroo squinted from his corner of the room, looking down at Kenma for confirmation only to be met with a shrug. Meanwhile, Iwaizumi froze, bewildered for several moments before coming to his senses. “He thinks...you’re human?”

With a deep sigh, Yamaguchi explained what had happened until then. The fire, the failed attempt, being saved, introducing Hinata and Kageyama, his passing out, everything. He held his breath, awaiting a reaction.

“That’s…it complicates things.” Iwaizumi pondered for a moment. The teens had broken the harsh moral code to avoid Angels but, in hindsight hadn’t had much choice. If he was a traitor, it could endanger those he knew, and he may be aggressive towards the Kitsune anyways. It was clearly a dangerous situation that could be quickly solved if they terminated the Angel. But a tug in his heart and recalling Oikawa’s intense desire to save him threw that option out of question.

Iwaizumi sighed. “Just, be careful. One of us will always be around if you’re with him. At least until we can...trust him”. He stumbled over the last words, cringing at how foreign it sounded. The group all exhaled in relief, presumably having held their breath until that moment. Iwaizumi placed a hand on the back of his head as he said, “The kid is your problem so none of you will be leaving until we know what to do with him. We can set up some rooms for you to sleep in, so don’t worry on that front. Of course, you’ll continue training here as usual”.

Kenma grumbled loudly. “I wasn’t even the one to find him, how is this my issue…” Kuroo snickered, ruffling his hair to his dismay.

“Anyone involved is stuck here now, whether you like it or not. There’s a fucking Angel living in this building; be thankful this is all I’m asking”. Iwaizumi strutted out of the room, stress, guilt, and confusion burning in his chest.

Hinata was the first to follow him out, followed slowly by Yamaguchi and Kageyama. Trailing in the back was Kuroo dragging Kenma but eventually, the group made it back to the room inhabiting Tsukishima’s unconscious body. The Angel was resting peacefully, white bandages tightly wound around his chest and back. His dark feathers glistened, no longer singed or burning.

“Oikawa stopped the deterioration completely. He’ll still need some bed rest but the sooner he’s up and walking the better”. Iwaizumi stepped out of the way to let the teens through, perplexed at Yamaguchi, Hinata and Kageyama’s concerned expressions as they huddled around the Angel.  _They’re still young for being Kitsunes. But they’re not just oblivious kids. They know the dangers...they’re considered our best in the regimen for a reason. Why do they care so much? Oikawa I can understand but..._

Iwaizumi shook his head. Oikawa would tell him this much thinking would “give him a headache” and at this moment, he actually agreed. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and leaned by the corner of the room, watching Kuroo mumbling questions to the teens as they eagerly answered his inquiries. Yamaguchi was feebly inspecting the Angel’s crow wings, and though he couldn’t see his face Iwaizumi sensed faint mixtures of remorse and relief emanating off his body.  _I hope they don’t regret this._

 

POV Change: Tsukishima

 

Tsukishima couldn’t move. He couldn’t scream. He was simply drowning in the swirling ocean of inky darkness. He tried to inhale, and immediately regretted it as an invisible chokehold around his neck tightened. Was this what his existence consisted of now?

 _Sorry Sugawara-san, Daichi-san. You put too much faith in me._ An ironic faint smile crept on his lips.  _Yamaguchi..._ His chest stiffened.  _What’ll happen to you? Will Ushijima-san try to hurt you? I’d hate for you to suffer the consequences of my actions. You seemed like a good kid..._ A faint image of a familiar freckled face morphed in the endless pool in front of Tsukishima’s squinted eyes. He reached an arm out, heart aching when the image faded. He grit his teeth, fingers trembling as his heartbeat slowed.

Suddenly, a hand grasped his own. His breath hitched in surprise, his body jerking forward as he became incredibly light headed. In one final wave of black, all was still.

Something hurt. That was for sure. And...was that a conversation he could hear?  _No way._ Tsukishima took a tentative breath. A heavy weight seemed to compress his body but...he could breathe. He waited several moments before finally trying to open his eyes. His eyelids were heavy, and as he strained to let himself see light again the voices around him began to clear.

“He’s...he’s awake! I think? Oh uh...uh uhm”

_Was that Yamaguchi?_

Tsukishima groaned as overwhelming light poured into his vision, eliciting a sharp pain in his head. Feet shuffled around him, bodies suddenly crowded around him. His eyes adjusted, blurry as expected but open nonetheless. He tried to speak but his raspy throat only allowed a choked wheeze to come out.

“Hey, hey. You’re okay...Don’t try to move or talk yet”

_Definitely Yamaguchi._

“Glasses! Put on his glasses!”

_Oh no…_

“Hey, stupid don’t poke his eyes out”.

_They’re both here…_

Tsukishima continued to squint, tentatively raising an arm to rub his face. Plastic poked at his hand and he accepted, slipping on the glasses and sighing as he finally regained his vision. He swallowed before attempting to speak again.

“Yamaguchi…?” It wasn’t until then he noticed.

The ears.

“Woah…” The breathlessness in his voice wasn’t from his dry throat.

“Uhm...hey Tsukishima. Welcome back”.

“No, not hey welcome back, explain the ears” His retort came out harsher than intended but he couldn’t help it with the state he was in.

“He’s a salty one huh…” A new voice stepped in. Tsukishima craned his neck to see another tall person with messy black hair leering down at him. Except...he also had those ears. And a tail.

His head pounded again, on account of the bright lights and sudden burst of new information. He groaned, biting his lip and curled weak fingers into a fist. “Can you just tell me what’s going on,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

Yamaguchi’s hand grazed his arm. His somber gaze met Tsukishima’s confused eyes as he took a deep breath.

“You’re in the Hell Realm Tsukishima. And we’re all Kitsune”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys are exposed oooOOoooOo


End file.
